MBTA adding trains to Framingham/Worcester line

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority plans to add several round trips to the Framingham/Worcester line this fall.

By Danielle Ameden/Daily News staff

MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA

By Danielle Ameden/Daily News staff

Posted Aug. 2, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 2, 2012 at 2:04 AM

By Danielle Ameden/Daily News staff

Posted Aug. 2, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 2, 2012 at 2:04 AM

FRAMINGHAM

» Social News

Fifteen-year-old Mick Frantzen and a bunch of his friends excitedly met up Wednesday, ready to ride the commuter rail to the Mac Miller and Wiz Khalifa concert.

Problem is they just missed the 2:56 p.m. train they needed to catch into Boston, and the next one wasn't coming for close to three hours. They stood around the downtown train depot, trying to figure out what to do.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority plans to add several round trips to the Framingham/Worcester line this fall, which Frantzen and fellow riders agreed could make it much more convenient to get where they need to go - especially if the trips fall during times when there are now broad gaps in service.

"That would work a lot better for us," said Frantzen, who lives in Framingham.

The MBTA is set to initially add three trips from Worcester to Boston via Framingham after the state buys the track from CSX.

"I firmly believe that it’s a huge opportunity for the three communities and regions in terms of economic development, getting more people to use the train," Lt. Gov. Tim Murray said Wednesday. "We just think there’s a lot of synergies that are created there."

MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said another two trips per day will be added within a few months of this fall's deed transfer. One will be an express train inbound from Worcester and express return service from Boston.

The agency will add more trips in 2013, after taking delivery of new bi-level coaches now being manufactured, Pesaturo said.

Murray said he asked Department of Transportation Secretary Richard Davey for express service.

"To me it can’t start soon enough," Murray said.

With Framingham serving as "the hub of MetroWest," Murray said, "you can cross-pollinate where people live, work and seek an education."

Commuters and other riders waiting for a train Wednesday afternoon said they'd welcome more frequent service.

"I'm really tied down to the schedule because I work out here and I don't drive," said Anne Fracht, a self-advocacy coordinator for Advocates Inc. in Framingham, who lives in Allston.

Working around the train schedule, Fracht can usually only put in a six-hour day. She steps off in Framingham around 7:30 a.m. and hurries to make the 2:56 back home, the only option before the next one at 5:36.

"It's my choice to work less hours and get home at a reasonable hour," Fracht said, expressing hope that one of the new trains will run through Framingham, inbound, around 4:30. "If there were a train at 4:30, I could work until 4 and get home around 6:30."

"Having more options is definitely better," said Mark Trayer, who commutes by train from Cambridge to his job at Philips Lifeline in Framingham.

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Twin brothers Brian and Christopher Leonard agreed.

Brian Leonard, who lives in Worcester, rode the train to Framingham to visit his brother. While he didn't have any problems with the schedule Wednesday, he has had trouble in the past.

"One of the worst feelings I've experienced is missing a train," he said, "and then you've got to wait."

(Danielle Ameden can be reached at 508-626-4416 or dameden@wickedlocal.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleAmeden.)